


Mage Shifters

by xxMad_Donaxx



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, M/M, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-16 17:05:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18098513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxMad_Donaxx/pseuds/xxMad_Donaxx
Summary: Hawke stumbles into Anders clinic in pain one night and discovers the healer can turn into a big cat right before he changes into a wolf.





	Mage Shifters

Anders heaved a sigh as he poured the mop water down the drain at the very back of the clinic. He set the bucket upright and leaned the mop next to it so it would dry rather than mildew. It had been a busy night but the clinic was now empty and he was looking forward to collapsing onto the cot he slept in. The next few days might be just as busy if the stomach flu his last patient come in with had already been spread around.

He shuffled to his little curtained off section and sat to pull off his boots. His thoughts turned to Garrett Hawke as they often did since he’d recently met the man. Despite how unwise it was he continued to flirt with him. There was plenty of attraction between them and the simple fact he was also a mage helped. Hawke was intriguing in many ways and Anders found all of them appealing. He sensed something else about him but Anders couldn’t put his finger on exactly what it was.

His coat was on the peg by his cot and his boots under it when he heard someone pounding on one of the doors. Anders hauled himself to his feet and started over to them hoping it wasn’t a life or death problem. The pounding came again, this time a little faster and more insistent. He was about to holler for patience when the person on the other side called out. The last few steps were taken quickly and Anders flung the door open to find Hawke panting on the other side.

“I don’t feel…” Hawke began. He groaned in pain and hunched over.

“Come on,” Anders said soothingly as he gently ushered him inside the clinic.

Hawke collapsed on the nearest cot with his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He groaned again and Anders could see him trembling. A quick scan told him there was nothing wrong. Anders frowned and felt his forehead. As soon as he touched Hawke’s skin Anders knew exactly what was wrong. The magic coursing through him called to Anders and he resisted the urge to answer it. Instead he stood and rushed to the door. After it was shut and bolted he knelt in front of his friend.

“Do you trust me?” Anders asked him seriously.

“Of course… I do,” Hawke replied. “I wouldn’t…” He gasped and grimaced as a spasm flew through him. “Be here otherwise.”

“I know what’s happening,” Anders said soothingly. “Right now I need you to take off all of your clothes.”

His eyes grew wide and Hawke smirked briefly before another burst of pain. “A little fast don’t you think?” he said when he could.

Anders smiled and shook his head. “Not as your healer. It’s likely they’ll end up unwearable if you leave them on. I can strip too if it makes you feel better.”

“That would be… oh Maker… very distracting,” Hawke said as he sat up. “What’s happening to me… Anders?”

“You’re a shape shifter,” Anders said as he stood. “It’ll be much easier on you if you stop fighting the change.”

Hawke looked incredulous for a second before a wave of magic tore through him. He whimpered as the magic settled on his skin, shimmering as it tried to pull him into his other form. Anders gripped his shoulder as Hawke fought the magic back again. Unable to watch his friend in pain anymore Anders stood up and backed away. After making sure Hawke was watching him Anders pulled at the same magic at his core. The change was near instantaneous.

Rather than a man Hawke was now looking at a cougar. It startled him enough that he stopped resisting and let the magic run its course. He shimmered and shifted, his clothes tearing as his body changed shape, his staff clattering to the floor. Anders changed back at the whimpers he heard and gingerly pulled at the shirt and vest he’d been wearing. A black nose appeared followed by his gray muzzle and his intelligent brown eyes. He whimpered again and shook his head.

Some mages were natural shape shifters. Unlike those that could learn the specialized spells to shift into any animal the mage knew intimately, natural shape shifters could only change into one. Anders had no idea what determined whether a mage was a shifter or what animal that mage was. It wasn’t entirely surprising that Hawke had turned into a canine considering he was Fereldan. What determined when the first shift happened was also a complete mystery. He was glad that Hawke wouldn’t have to figure out many things on his own like Anders had.

“Hang on,” Anders said softly. “This is why I told you to strip.”

Carefully he extracted the gray wolf from clothing that didn’t fit anymore. Hawke was patient until Anders lifted him to the floor. He squirmed out of Anders’ grip and fell heavily to the floor. Watching him stand then figure out how to operate four legs instead of two was amusing but Anders hid his smile behind his hand.

It was disorienting the first few times shifting to the animal. Anders remembered exploring his surroundings with his new senses like Hawke was. His ears swiveled at every creak and his nose moved constantly. Slowly he started moving around, following the scent trails in the clinic. After watching Hawke move in circles trying to see his tail Anders couldn’t hold in a chuckle. It turned into a yawn and Hawke turned to him.

“I know you must have dozens of questions,” Anders said tiredly. “You’re going to be stuck like this for a few hours though so they’ll have to wait. Pick any cot you want. Blankets are over there. We’ll figure out clothes for you in the morning. Good night Hawke.”

He snuffed the lights with a wave of his hand as he stood. Anders made his way to the back of the clinic and sensed Hawke following him. Lying on his side he wasn’t surprised at all when he felt Hawke’s nose sniffing against his hand. It took a moment for him to figure out how to get up onto the cot next to him. Anders ran his fingers through Hawke’s fur when he settled and shut his eyes. At some point during the night the wolf became a man and Anders pulled a blanket over them and immediately fell back to sleep.

*

Hawke was alone when he woke and thankfully in a body he knew. He was also completely naked. Slowly he sat up, careful to keep the blanket covering him from the waist down. His ruined clothes, which had been tossed on a crate near the foot of the cot, were indeed unwearable. The trousers were a total loss as well as the small clothes. The shirt and his vest were salvageable however. He wasn’t about to leave until he got the answers Anders promised him though. 

It was shocking to see Anders turn into a giant cat but it was more shocking to find himself a wolf. The heightened sense of smell and hearing had been fascinating and a touch overwhelming. Anders’ calmness about the whole strange situation helped. It grew normal quickly but now he could hardly believe he’d actually been another creature. Hawke could sense the knot of magic at his core that changed him yesterday. Curious, he pulled on it and tumbled off the cot he’d been sitting on.

He heard a yelp and realized he was the one who’d made the sound. Hawke rolled onto his belly and his tail thumped the ground a few times before he stood. The clinic was quiet and he sniffed the blanket that had been over his human form. There was another scent clinging to it that he assumed was Anders. It was strong back here in his sleeping area and he followed the newest trail of it around the curtain. It was fascinating that he could tell the difference between old smells and new smells.

The sound of footsteps interrupted him and Hawke stood still. His ears could pick out two sets and he hoped one of them belonged to Anders. If anyone else saw him like this Hawke had no idea what to do. He wasn’t exactly an expert on wolf behavior. The right door opened and Anders stepped into the clinic. The smell of fresh bread and ham came with him but the dwarf that followed him in commanded all of Hawke’s attention.

The dwarf was carta. He’d become familiar with them during his time with the Red Iron. Anders didn’t look worried but he wasn’t about to take a chance. The low growl that he uttered was loud in the quiet clinic. Both of them looked startled as they searched for the source of the sound. Hawke inched cautiously forward, still growling. The smell suddenly coming from the dwarf pulled at something primal within him. Hawke began snarling as he bared his teeth when he realized the dwarf was terrified.

“Easy,” Anders said soothingly as he cautiously approached him. “He just needs a few things.” The food he held was set on a nearby cot and he knelt beside Hawke. “I give them potions and they leave me alone,” he whispered.

It wasn’t easy but he held tight to his human mind rather than the animal instinct telling him to get rid of the threat. Anders cautiously scratched his head and Hawke grew silent though he didn’t take his eyes off of the dwarf. Hurriedly Anders moved across the clinic to a crate that was full of bottles. He shoved them at the dwarf and locked the door after he rushed off. Anders sighed after he turned and leaned against it.

“I’m glad you figured out how to shift,” he said evenly. “I’m not sure how I’m going to explain you the next time they show up though.”

Hawke pulled on the tight ball of magic inside him and staggered a little as his perspective changed suddenly. “That is disorienting,” he said with a little shake of his head. He sat on a cot, very aware of his nudity, and scrubbed his face. “I have so many questions to ask you but first I want to know about the carta and why you’re supplying them with potions.”

“It keeps them from trashing my clinic,” Anders said evenly. His eyes dropped once then stayed focused on Hawke’s face. “I guess this was theirs before I moved in.”

“Let’s ignore the fact you’re a mage for a moment,” Hawke said with a frown. “And possessed by a spirit. You’re a bloody great cat. You could scare them spit less and they’d never bother you again.”

“I’m not sure that would work,” he said skeptically.

“Are you kidding?” Hawke stood up and gestured at the door. “He was practically pissing himself in terror. And everyone knows what a wolf looks like. I’ve never seen a cat like that before.”

“I hadn’t either.” Anders finally stepped away from the door and over to the pile of blankets. He tossed the top one to Hawke with a smirk. “You’re very distracting like that.”

Hawke snorted and wrapped it around his waist. “While we’re on the subject, why didn’t your clothes explode?”

“It takes practice to shift your clothes as well,” Anders answered. “We can head to the coast in the next few days to practice.”

“I can’t afford to destroy any more of my clothing. Just how is this practicing going to happen?”

“A ribbon tied loosely around your wrist.”

He sat on the cot with the food and tossed a roll to Anders as he sat opposite him. “Are you going to sit around naked with me while if figure this out?”

“I can if you’d like,” Anders replied after a moment.

“I would definitely like that,” Hawke said softly.

Anders flushed pink and smiled. Hawke was looking forward to the outing and not even the thought of Carver teasing him about losing his clothing could upset him.

*

Sitting on a blanket he’d brought with Anders watched Hawke. He took a deep breath and glanced at the ribbon around his wrist before focusing on the water. Anders had been leering at his naked friend for a couple of hours now. The stabs of guilt Justice sent up were beaten down with the fact that Hawke had been leering at him as well.

Hawke took another deep breath and shifted forms. The ribbon sat on the ground around his front paw. He snarled at it and barked a few times before flinging it through his back legs as he dug furiously in the sand. Anders watched him take a few steps away and flop onto the ground facing the water. It had been a few hours since they started and Hawke hadn’t managed to do it. With a frown Anders stood and pulled the blanket with as he moved to where Hawke had ended up.

He arranged the blanket and sat on it with his legs stretched out. Anders cautiously touched the back of his neck and received a huff. Slowly he ran his fingers through the darker fur on Hawke’s back. The sound of the surf breaking on the many rocks in the waters off the Wounded Coast filled their ears. Hawke raised his head at a gull’s cry, sniffing as he tried to get a scent of the bird. He huffed again and shifted to lie alongside Anders, muzzle resting on his shin.

How long they sat like that Anders couldn’t have said. It was difficult seeing his friend so frustrated and unable to realistically help in any way. He’d explained how he shifted his clothing along with his body but that was obviously not working for Hawke. Unfortunately he didn’t know any other way to explain how to do it. Hawke was only the second natural shifter he’d met that he knew of.

Finally Hawke shifted back to his human form and sighed heavily. “I’ve never had so much trouble learning anything magic related,” he said as he sat up.

“I’m sure you felt the difference between the wolf and your magic,” Anders said.

“Of course.”

“I spent a year in solitary confinement after my sixth escape. There are wards in the basement of the Tower. Cut you off from your magic.”

“Maker’s Breath,” Hawke whispered in horror. “A year? I can’t imagine…”

Hawke shuddered and Anders kept his gaze on the sea. “I don’t like talking about it. But it was during that year when I changed for the first time. So it has nothing to do with your magical talent. You’ll get it eventually.”

Silence fell again for a few moments then Anders shifted. He nudged Hawke with his head and slowly padded his way across the sand. Anders had no plans beyond getting his friend to forget the frustration for a while. There was nothing quite like stalking prey or simply running and exploring the environment. He heard the whisper of Hawke’s paws and took off running up the coast.

For a couple of hours they explored a few of the cave systems that littered the Coast. They followed their noses to interesting things and chased small animals in the bushes. They ended up back at the beach curled up on the blanket. Hawke lay next to him, head resting on Anders’ shoulders. Despite Hawke’s frustration it had been an enjoyable day. If Hawke walked a little closer than normal to him on the way back to Kirkwall, Anders certainly wasn’t going to complain.

*

Hawke had discovered his sense of smell as a human was becoming more like that of his wolf form. He had also discovered that he really liked Anders’ scent. Underneath the seemingly ever present stench of Darktown he smelled of elfroot with a sharp musk that made him think of the large cat he turned into. His smell was so much more complicated but that was the only way his human brain could explain what his wolf nose smelled.

Describing what the scent he was quickly becoming addicted to didn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. The only person he could talk to about it was the person the scent belonged to. Considering the frustration of being held at arm’s length by that person discussing his intoxicating smell was simply out of the question. Sometimes he found it difficult enough to not just bury his nose somewhere on Anders’ body and inhale a lung full of it.

Since he’d noticed his human nose working much better than it used to, places with a lot of people tended to put him in sensory overload. Darktown with its refugees, Carta, Coterie and the wealth of filth that found its way there didn’t seem to bother the wolf but as a man the place had become almost unbearable. Of course it could be because the animal already had the ability to sort through all those different smells at once. Busy markets were just as bad.

Hawke knew he should probably ask Anders about it but hadn’t. At this point he didn’t want to have to explain why he hadn’t as soon as he realized his sense of smell had improved a lot as a human. In the interests of learning to deal with the influx of scents Hawke had been spending a lot of time at the Hanged Man. The people were mostly regulars and the alcohol smelled familiar even if it was stronger smelling than before.

Sitting in the common room chatting with Isabela while Carver sulked, Hawke tried not to be obvious as he sorted through the smells in the room. The door opened and Anders gained his full attention as he walked in. His hair looked damp and the coat he normally had on was conspicuously absent. Hawke waved at him, a big grin appearing as the healer slipped into the chair next to him. Immediately he noticed the cloud of Darktown that constantly surrounded him was as missing as his coat.

Without thinking Hawke leaned towards him and inhaled deeply. The scent that was Anders filled his nose along with something he most definitely didn’t associate with the healer or his clinic. His grin fell a little as he inhaled again.

“What are you doing?” Carver asked tersely, reminding him that he wasn’t alone with the healer.

“Er…” Hawke said as he sat up straight. Anders cheeks were bright red but he was smirking. “Sorry. You just… um… why do you smell like the Rose?”

Anders wiggled his fingers as he replied, not sounding a bit surprised. “I take care of some of the workers. Sometimes I get to use the washroom as payment.”

“How did you know?” Isabela asked with one eyebrow quirked up.

“I can… smell the perfume on him,” Hawke said hesitantly. “You reek of it.”

Carver and Isabela were both looking at him like he’d grown a new head. His cheeks were now feeling a little hot and he slouched in his chair a bit.

“You’re there often enough Isabela,” Anders said with a nonchalant shrug. “Some of the workers ask me about Carver because they know I’m friends with Hawke. So why wouldn’t he know what the place smells like.”

His brother was now red faced and being stared at. Hawke sighed internally and shot Anders a grateful smile. They drank and chatted for a while, the strange sniffing he’d done thankfully avoided as a topic of conversation. He was grateful for the slight reprieve but he knew neither of his friends or his brother was likely to let him get away without some teasing at the very least.

When Anders stood to leave Hawke stood as well. They left together and he pulled the mage into a convenient alley halfway back to Darktown. He grabbed fistfuls of Anders’ shirt and pulled them together. Hawke leaned over slightly and buried his nose in the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply. Anders huffed but didn’t push him away.

“I’m sorry you just… smell really good,” Hawke said stepping away. “Especially without that Darktown smell. That’s probably on your coat.” He smoothed down Anders’ shirt and stepped away. “Thanks for… that… in there.”

“I can see in the dark Hawke,” Anders said quietly. “I’ve only met one other natural shapeshifter and she could hear a pin drop across the great hall at Vigil’s keep in the middle of a party.”

“So developing a super sense of smell is normal?”

“For you I’m sure it is.”

“Well that’s comforting.”

“Do I really smell that bad?”

“Not at all. The Rose isn’t exactly pleasant smelling to me but it’s a lot better than Darktown. You…” Hawke leaned in and inhaled deeply again. “Are just about the best thing ever. I’m sure the smell is in your coat since I can’t smell it now and you aren’t wearing it.”

“I guess I’ll have to soak it,” Anders said after a minute.

“It’s not a big deal,” Hawke said with a shrug. “Everyone up here smells like the foundries layered over their personal scent.”

“Just how long has it been since you’ve discovered this?” Anders asked.

“A while,” Hawke said sheepishly. “I didn’t know how to explain… any of it. Then being in a very crowded place made me want to hide there were so many smells. It’s still hard to deal with sometimes.”

“I can relate,” Anders said moving a touch closer. “It took me a while to learn when to light a lantern.”

Hawke leaned closer and sniffed. There was something else mixed in with his scent now. He had noticed a few other things that his nose could pick out besides the sour stench of fear. There was always a hot cloud of anger around his brother. His mother nearly always had a hint of something he couldn’t begin to describe that was either sadness or worry. This was almost sweet. Hawke took a half step closer to Anders and inhaled deeply.

Anders huffed like he had done before but unlike a few minutes ago Hawke felt a hand at his cheek, moving slowly towards the back of his head. Those fingers urged him to turn his head and Hawke found himself being soundly kissed. The sweet smell spiked and mingled with Anders’ already heady scent. Hawke wrapped his arms around the healer and pushed his tongue through parted lips.

After an unknown length of time Anders broke away for air but didn’t let go. Hawke pressed against Anders while he panted and felt a decent sized hardness against his hip. He was also extremely aroused and there was no way Anders couldn’t feel it. Upon inhaling Anders scent again he realized that sweet smell was arousal. Hawke pressed their lips together again and grinned.

“Should we continue this somewhere a little more private?” Hawke whispered.

Rather than a vocal answer Hawke found himself being pulled down the alley. In minutes the doors to Anders clinic were shut and bolted behind them. It was a whirlwind of clothes being shed as they made their way to the back of the clinic. Hands slid along skin, lips pressed together and tongues tangled as they fell onto Anders’ cot. It was frantic and messy but everything Hawke had dreamed of since he’d first laid eyes on the healer. Sated and lethargic he snuggled against Anders, his scent soothing despite the smell of sex and sweat.

*

Anders couldn’t help remembering the last time he’d woke with Hawke naked in his bed. Hawke had cuddled against him then just like he was now, the only difference being the amount of clothing between them. He’d suspected Hawke’s nose was developing just like his eyes had deep in the bowels of Kinloch Hold. Down there in the perpetual gloom having the excellent night vision of his cat had been life-saving.

That his fellow mage had some serious desires and feelings for him Anders had already known. If he were perfectly honest with himself he felt those same desires and feelings for Hawke long before he’d shown up that night trying to hold off his first shift. He ran his fingers through Hawke’s hair and sighed. This was still a horrible idea. Even though many months had passed the carnage of joining with Justice was still very fresh in his mind.

As terrified as he was of a repeat performance of that violence he couldn’t deny the peace he felt right now. Cats were solitary creatures but his mostly human soul craved contact. In the not so distant past Anders had gone from one bed to another trying to sate that need to touch and be touched. Justice had changed his willingness to selfishly sate those needs but apparently the spirit hadn’t changed the need itself.

Hawke was practically laying on him, nose pressed against his chest. Anders hadn’t set out to get Hawke in bed with him but there was no other outcome he’d rather have. He let his eyes shut and listened to Hawke’s breathing, eventually drifting off to sleep once more.


End file.
